Small boat Channel crossings pass 30,000 in 2024

According to the figures, the provisional total for the year stands at 30,431

Over 30,000 people have crossed the English Channel on small boats this year, Home Office figures show.

According to the figures, the provisional total for the year stands at 30,431.

The latest arrivals mean the total for 2024 to date is up 14% on the figure recorded this time last year (26,605) but down 24% on 2022 (39,883).

A Home Office spokesperson said: “We all want to end dangerous small boat crossings, which threaten lives and undermine our border security.”

On Wednesday, 564 people arrived in 12 boats.

A man also lost his life in the Channel while trying to make a crossing on the same day.

This was the 10th death in the Channel in October.

The number of people who have died while trying to cross the Channel this year now stands at 50, according to incidents recorded by the French coastguard.

Channel crossings continued on Thursday, with pictures showing groups of people wearing life jackets arriving in Dover, Kent, on a Border Force boat.

The Home Office spokesperson added: “The people-smuggling gangs do not care if the vulnerable people they exploit live or die, as long as they pay.

“We will stop at nothing to dismantle their business models and bring them to justice.”

Additional reporting by PA Media.